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ISLAMABAD: A United Nations report has revealed that Afghan Taliban’s continued support for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), despite Islamabad’s increasing pressure to cease backing the outfit, was fuelling the group’s escalating attacks in Pakistan.
This was stated in the 35th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted to the UN Security Council.
The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team is a panel of independent experts established by the UN Security Council to support sanctions implementation against individuals and entities linked to Al Qaeda, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) and associated groups.
The team submits biannual reports assessing the threat landscape posed by these organisations to form international policy and security strategies.
Scale of outfit’s attacks in Pakistan has increased significantly, according to report by UNSC-formed monitoring team
The report, covering the period from July 1 to Dec 13, 2024, states the “status and strength of TTP in Afghanistan had not changed”, while the group intensified its assaults on Pakistan, conducting over 600 attacks during the reporting period, many launched from Afghan territory.
Financial, operational backing
It underscored that the Taliban continued to provide the outlawed TTP with logistical and operational space and financial support, bolstering the group’s capacity to sustain its activities.
The report revealed that the family of TTP leader Noor Wali Masoud receives around $43,000 per month from the Afghan Taliban, reflecting a significant level of financial backing for the terrorist group.
The TTP has also “established new training centres in Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika (Barmal) provinces” while enhancing recruitment, including from within the Afghan Taliban’s ranks.
This expansion has contributed to TTP’s continued status as the largest Afghanistan-based terrorist organisation, with an estimated 6,000 to 6,500 fighters. The group’s growing influence is linked to the Afghan Taliban’s continued ideological and historical ties with TTP.
Amid escalating attacks, Pakistan has intensified military operations under “Azm-i-Istehkam”, targeting TTP hideouts across the Afghan border, particularly in Paktika and Khost. These military measures include cross-border raids and retaliatory strikes.
Simultaneously, Pakistan pursued diplomatic engagements, sending delegations to Kabul to urge the Afghan Taliban to take action against TTP sanctuaries. However, the Afghan authorities remained reluctant, proposing mediation rather than decisive measures, leading to a diplomatic impasse.
The UN report corroborates these developments, highlighting that the Taliban’s support has enabled TTP to escalate its offensive strategy against Pakistan. The report stated, “The ambition and scale of its (TTP) attacks on Pakistan… had significantly increased.”
TTP’s operational capabilities have been further strengthened by increased collaboration with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and other terrorist groups. The report indicates that these organisations are “conducting attacks under the banner of Tehrik-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP)”.
The report warned that enhanced cooperation among these terrorist groups, including “provision of suicide bombers and fighters and ideological guidance”, could transform TTP into an “extra-regional threat” and potentially an umbrella organisation for other terrorist factions operating in South Asia.
The proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), through its Majeed Brigade, executed several high-casualty attacks across south-western Pakistan, including in Awaran, Panjgur, and Dalbandin, during the reporting period, according to the report. Notably, the Majeed Brigade has incorporated women into its ranks.
The report observed that the Majeed Brigade maintains connections with the banned TTP, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), and ETIM/TIP, collaborating with these groups in its operational bases in Afghanistan. This emerging nexus between the BLA, which traditionally pursues ethno-nationalist objectives, and religiously inspired terrorist groups like TTP, indicates a strategic convergence of interests.
High-profile operatives
Pakistani security forces, according to the report, dealt a significant setback to IS-K efforts to establish its network in Pakistan by arresting three high-profile operatives.
The IS-K leaders identified as Adil Panjsheri, an Afghan national, Abu Munzir, a Tajik, and Kaka Younis, an Uzbek, were said to be central figures in recruitment, travel and funding of fighters and suicide bombers, including those involved in attacks in Kerman and Moscow.
Their arrest was previously not announced by Pakistani security forces, which regularly publicise their counter-terrorism operations.
The report described Panjsheri as a coordinator of travel and logistics for IS-K, while Munzir managed recruitment networks across Central Asia. Younis was identified as a key financier of terrorist activities.
Despite these arrests, Tariq Tajiki, believed to be the mastermind behind the Kerman attack, remains at large in Afghanistan, the report noted.
To avoid detection and minimise further arrests, IS-K, according to the report, has switched from electronic communications to traditional courier networks for delivering instructions and holding meetings.
Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025
